Top line
The two astronauts stuck on the International Space Station will hopefully finally return to Earth in early 2025 aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule, NASA said Saturday. And not on the Boeing Starliner they arrived on, because of safety concerns about the spacecraft that could jeopardize Boeing’s lucrative contract with the space station.
Wilmore and Williams began their mission in early June. (Kirk Sides/Houston Chronicle via Getty … (+)
Key data
The two NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry “Butch” Wilmore were on the International Space Station more than two months longer than planned and are now scheduled to return to Earth in the SpaceX capsule around February 2025.
The SpaceX Crew Dragon will launch at the end of September and will carry two astronauts instead of the usual four, leaving two seats free for Williams and Wilmore.
The Boeing Starliner will return to Earth unmanned in September, according to NASA. The spacecraft will undergo “some minor” modifications, including changes to the separation sequence from the space station and the configuration of the cockpit.
The Starliner experienced engine malfunctions and helium leaks before docking with the space station in June. NASA said on Saturday that the engines had been subjected to greater stress and heat than usual.
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Main critics
The switch from Boeing’s Starliner to SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule was “very embarrassing,” Erik Seedhouse, a professor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, told AFP. Cai von Rumohr, an aviation analyst at TD Cowen, echoed Seedhouse, telling AFP the situation was “an image problem” and “could jeopardize future contracts with NASA.”
Large number
More than a billion dollars. That is how much money Boeing is estimated to have lost with the Starliner program.
Surprising fact
Boeing is the prime contractor for the International Space Station, which has been in orbit for nearly 24 years.
Important background
Williams and Wilmore launched from Florida on the Starliner in early June for a mission expected to last eight to 10 days. The astronauts are the first people to launch into space on a Boeing spacecraft. The Starliner, which Boeing won a $4.2 billion NASA contract to build, is designed for up to 10 missions. As the Starliner approached the International Space Station, five of the Starliner’s 28 engines stopped firing and helium links in the spacecraft’s propulsion system stopped working. After the problems, Boeing said its engineers understood the flight problems and insisted it was confident the Starliner was safe, the Washington Post reported, noting that NASA did not share Boeing’s assessment after ground tests and an attempt to find the root cause of the problems.
More information
According to NASA, astronauts stuck in the space station will return in a SpaceX capsule (NBC News)
Starliner astronauts could be in space by next year (Forbes)
